Engaging and Interactive Ideas for Teaching Politics and Government

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Transcript of Engaging and Interactive Ideas for Teaching Politics and Government

Question: How can we make teaching politics and government interactive and engaging for our students? Engaging and Interactive Ideas for Teaching Government and Politics Mock Campaign Have students vote on candidates in a current election or have your own classroom campaign. If using real candidates students will research the candidates so they learn how to select a candidate. Voting Interviews Invite a Politician Into the Class Before the guest speaker comes to the class, generate a list of questions that the students may have. Have the students take notes during the presentation and use these points for a discussion later. Classroom Debates Have students research and defend both sides of an argument that is part of a current election or issue. Or have students debate different sides of an issue relevant to their lives so that they get an insight to the debate process that happens during legislation. Field Trips Prior to taking students on field trips, the teacher could come up with specific questions for students to answer or use a KWL chart. Useful field trips could include: Parliament Buildings Municipal/City Hall Voting Stations Museums By: Jessica Crockett& Dionne Poulin Our investigation was centered around finding useful teaching strategies. Here is what we found! For this activity students interview adults in their lives about the voting process. Generate a list of questions as a class. These can include:What was your first voting experience?How often do you vote?How do you feel about voting?What do you want me to know about the voting process? Campaign Buttons Have students create campaign buttons for federal or provincial elections or have students create their own campaign buttons in a 'mock election.' Classroom Voting Incorporate voting into your classroom processes. For example, have students vote on which activities to do. This models democracy for your students. Game: The Three Levels of Government The objective of this game is for students to recognize the difference between federal, provincial and municipal issues in government. In this game, each student provides an example issue and the class plays a guessing game to guess which level of government corresponds to each issue. Create a Song About Canadian Government Have students research the legislative process and create lyrics to a song. You could also create a music video as a class. Use Informational Videos In order to help students understand the various concepts surrounding government and politics, you could show explanatory videos such as this one: Great Websites with Lesson Plans and Resources Elections Canada - http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=vot&dir=yth/tea&document=index&lang=e#ele Legislative Assembly of B.C. - http://www.leg.bc.ca/info/2-8.htm# See Look! We Went! Why is it important to teach politics and government? We need to teach these topics because they are in the curriculum. Students also need to understand the ins and outs of government and politics in order to become contributing members of society. It is important to show students the ways they can become informed voters and to allow them to develop their own political viewpoints. Why do we need to make it interactive and engaging? These topics can sometimes be dry for students and students may not view them as important or relevant to their lives. In order to make politics and government interesting for our students, it is important to create lessons that have interactive and engaging activities. This way, students will actively participate in their learning experiences. Background Info Sources Canadian Teacher Magazine: http://www.canadianteachermagazine.com/ctm_teaching_ideas/spring05_no_girls_allowed.shtml 3 Levels of Government - Game: http://mapleleafpro.net/threelevels.pdf Parliament of Canada - http://www.parl.gc.ca/AboutEducation.aspx?Language=E Youtube Videos:www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGfYOmz_FSE www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxKcHF-Zv4s Example of Mock Campaign:http://canadaonline.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=canadaonline&cdn=newsissues&tm=32&f=10&tt=14&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.parl.gc.ca/About/Parliament/Education/LearningStrategies/lesson.asp%3FLanguage%3DE%26lpl%3D19%26tife%3D9 eHow - Teacher Activities to Teach Elementary Students About Voting: http://canadaonline.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=canadaonline&cdn=newsissues&tm=32&f=10&tt=14&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.parl.gc.ca/About/Parliament/Education/LearningStrategies/lesson.asp%3FLanguage%3DE%26lpl%3D19%26tife%3D9 In order to be an effective teacher on these subjects, it is important to be well informed and to know the topic inside out. In order to do this, many teachers may choose to do some background research. Some helpful websites for this would be:Elections CanadaLegislative Assembly of B.C.Parliament of Canada Jessica and Dionne visit Parliament